


The Bar

by Lady_Sage



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Smut, Future Fic, M/M, birthday fic, future setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-26 01:29:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15652983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Sage/pseuds/Lady_Sage
Summary: Shinjiro finds himself back at the restaurant that night. There are more people than the previous night. Probably because it’s a Saturday. Not that it matters to him. He sits at his usual stool, watching the different customers. He watches a few guys fail at trying to pick up some chicks, and then he watches one guy succeed, leaving with the girl. He shakes his head at the strangers. He never did understand the point of one-night stands. Not that he’d never had any. Though, they only ever happened when he was blackout drunk. It’d been a long while since the last incident.The door to the restaurant chimes as a new customer steps in out of the cold. The brunette glances over his shoulder to get a look at them and his eyes go wide. He knows that head of white hair. It had been nearly four years since he last saw that head of white hair. Hell, what is he doing in a place like this?





	The Bar

**Author's Note:**

> I interrupt my posting of "Shadows of the Past" to bring y'all this fic in honour of Shinjiro's [would-be] 27th birthday.  
> ~ You deserved so much more than what you got, babe ~  
> By the way, the fic itself has nothing to do with birthdays...or even the month of August, for that matter. It's just a little idea I've had recently that turned into something completely different than I had anticipated lmao  
> Hope y'all enjoy x3

The small restaurant is dead. Just Shinjiro and a couple other customers sitting towards the other side of the bar. The brunette is into his second drink, not expecting anything exciting to happen. Last time there was a bar fight, the place almost got shut down. That had been partly his own fault, but the other guy started it. Shinjiro doesn’t drink enough anymore to feel the need to get into stupid fights like that.

 

He gets up to go to the bathroom. The only stall is occupied by two people. Tch. _Classy_. He tries to ignore the shameless moans as he stands at the urinal. His company finishes—loudly—before he can, and both people come tumbling out of the stall. Shinjiro continues to ignore them as the guy who got off is tucking himself back into his pants, clearly giddy. Shinjiro is zipping up his fly as he’s approached by the one who was giving the blowjob. He licks his lips, looking the brunette up and down.

 

“You want the same treatment?” he asks.

 

“I’ll pass,” Shinjiro says.

 

“It’ll be worth your time.”

 

He shoves past the guy to exit the bathroom. His body’s beginning to ache from the long day of work, so he decides it’s best to turn in early. He grabs his coat from the back of the barstool and leaves what he owes on the counter.

 

Outside, he’s met with a forceful gust of wind. And it’s starting to snow. Ugh. He hates wintertime. There’s nothing comforting about the cold. About the idea of sitting in front of a fireplace. About not knowing whether or not he’ll have heat in his shitty excuse of an apartment. He heaves an exasperated sigh and makes his way home. If he can even call it that. It’s really just a place he’s living. Surviving.

 

He’s up by six o’clock the next morning. He’s used to sleeping no more than four or five hours a night. He doesn’t need more than that. The longer he sleeps, the longer he dreams. And when he dreams—

 

Work is the same as usual. More heavy lifting to add to his already sore muscles. He tries to think about what he’ll do after work to help the day go by faster. He noticed his fridge was looking pretty light, so maybe he’ll go grocery shopping. Or maybe he’ll hold off on that until he gets paid in a couple days… Hmm. He gets yelled at to focus, so be brings himself back to the task at hand. There had already been three injuries that month; he didn’t want to be the fourth. Couldn’t afford to be the fourth.

 

Shinjiro finds himself back at the restaurant that night. There are more people than the previous night. Probably because it’s a Saturday. Not that it matters to him. He sits at his usual stool, watching the different customers. He watches a few guys fail at trying to pick up some chicks, and then he watches one guy succeed, leaving with the girl. He shakes his head at the strangers. He never did understand the point of one-night stands. Not that he’d never had any. Though, they only ever happened when he was blackout drunk. It’d been a long while since the last incident.

 

The door to the restaurant chimes as a new customer steps in out of the cold. The brunette glances over his shoulder to get a look at them and his eyes go wide. He knows that head of white hair. It had been nearly four years since he last saw that head of white hair. Hell, what is he doing in a place like this?

 

He faces forward again and downs the rest of his drink. The bartender replaces it in no time, but he doesn’t take a sip from it yet. He’s too busy watching the white-haired young man as he takes a seat at the opposite end of the bar. He puts his order in, and Shinjiro doesn’t take a sip of his own drink until the other gets served. Shit. He still can’t believe his own eyes. Can’t believe the person he’s staring at is actually right there. He could step up to him. Talk to him. Reunite with him. He could…but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to. What would he even say to him? He’s supposed to be dead, after all. He’s supposed to be dead, and the white-haired young man was nothing more than a stranger now.

 

The other had asked for a newspaper, and Shinjiro can’t wrap his mind around the fact that he’s sitting at a bar reading the frigging paper. How could he focus on it with all that background noise?

 

Once the other’s drink is nearly finished, Shinjiro reorders it for him. He’s not sure if he had been planning on staying for a second drink, but he would be now. He finishes off his own drink as the bartender serves the other. He watches as he—assumedly—argues that he didn’t order a second drink. When the bartender gestures towards Shinjiro’s seat, his makes his move. He gets up and walk around towards the other side of the bar. Tch. For such a small place, the bar suddenly seems way too big. Like it goes on for miles. As he approaches where the other is sitting, he picks up on the end of the conversation.

 

“Could you at least tell him I’m—I dunno… That I’m flattered, but not interested?”

 

“Relax, ain’t like I’m hitting on you or some shit,” Shinjiro says.

 

The other spins on the barstool, slipping onto his feet once his widened eyes land on the brunette. “Shinji…”

 

He can’t help but smile at the sound of that voice saying his name again. For the first time in too long. “It’s good to see you, Aki.”

 

Akihiko shakes his head, stuttering. “I-I saw you get shot.” That’s the comment he finally settles on. And as soon as the words leave his mouth, he covers it. “I—Sorry, I just—I’m not sure what to say.”

 

“I know. You probably have a lot of questions, so I’m gonna be honest with you and let you know now that I’m not gonna have the answers you want.” The brunette shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t get how I’m here, either. How I’m alive.”

 

“You know what? Who—who cares? I’m just glad you are alive.” He looks him up and down. “You seem healthy, too. You’ve been taking care of yourself?”

 

“Yeah, I have been.”

 

“Good, good…”

 

There’s silence. Awkward. They sit back down, beside each other. The barstools are close enough where their knees bump together. The contact is kinda nice. Reminds Shinjiro of a time when he always wanted more. A time when he never admitted what he wanted. But in just a moment, all those repressed feelings—

 

“So, what is it that you’re doing these days? For work?” Akihiko speaks up, pulling him out of his thoughts.

 

“Oh. I work for a loading company. I just, uhm, stock trucks and trains with freight. That kind of stuff.”

 

He’s nodding his head, almost too vigorously. “That’s really great. That’s gotta keep you in good physical condition.”

 

Yeah, that would be something he’s concerned about. “Sure, but it sucks during this time of year.”

 

“Right. That makes sense.”

 

He pauses. “What about you? Are you a professional boxer yet?”

 

Akihiko chuckles and, damn it, Shinjiro swears he’s never heard a sweeter sound. “No, no… I mean, I do still box, but I left the competitions with my high school years. I actually just started an internship with a police station right outside town.”

 

“Wow, Aki, that’s—” He swallows hard. Why the hell is his mouth so dry all of a sudden? “Congratulations.”

 

He smiles. “Thanks.”

 

Another pause. “Okay, I gotta ask… What the hell are you doing in a dirt place like this? Aren’t there better restaurants around?”

 

He furrows his brow. “You’re here.”

 

And so it begins. Except Shinjiro isn’t in an arguing mood. “Yeah, because this is all I can afford.”

 

“Well, I don’t need some fancy restaurant for a single drink I can get cheaper at a bar like this.”

 

“Yeah, but this place…” He looks around at the odd customer-base. “I literally took a piss while listening to some guy get a blowjob last night. The guy then offered to give me one once he was done with his other _acquaintance_.”

 

Surprisingly enough, Akihiko laughs at this. “You turned down the offer?”

 

“He still had traces of the other guy’s cum on his chin. Of course I turned it down.”

 

He only continues to laugh. Shinjiro’s still surprised by this. He figured Akihiko would have found his story—his wording—vulgar. Guess they really weren’t kids anymore.

 

“Thanks for the drink, by the way,” he then says.

 

“Oh, now that you know it was from me, you’re suddenly flattered?”

 

“Who said anything about being flattered?”

 

As he takes a sip of his drink, he watches the brunette over the rim of the glass. Shinjiro can feel his cheeks flushing, and he hopes it’s too dark for the other to pick up on. Then Akihiko puts the glass down and reaches past the brunette. Their knees are still bumping together, and he can feel the other’s warm breath hit his neck. Akihiko is reaching for the coat on the barstool, though.

 

“This is new,” he says. “It’s nice.”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Shinjiro says. “I really didn’t wanna get rid of the other one, but it was falling apart.”

 

“I see your beanie has survived, though.”

 

“Like hell I’d ever get rid of the beanie.”

 

Akihiko smiles once more as his reach shifts towards the brunette’s head. He first traces the brim of the beanie. Then he plays with a couple strands of hair before brushing them aside. Shinjiro’s flushing all over again. The contact is getting to be too much for him, so he jumps to his feet.

 

“I gotta take a piss,” he says.

 

Akihiko seems unfazed by the sudden movement. Instead, he nonchalantly takes another sip of his drink. “Watch out for sexual predators.”

 

“That ain’t something to joke about, Officer.”

 

He reaches the bathroom and, of course, the stall is occupied again. So, he steps up to the urinal and unzips. He doesn’t know what his issue is but seeing Akihiko again has set his heart pounding. Especially being in such close proximity to him. When they were dumb teenage boys, they only ever got that close when they were fighting. Shinjiro had always hated that. He secretly loved the attention, just not the way it was given.

 

The occupant of the stall finally leaves, and the brunette is left alone. That doesn’t last long, though, because the door opens as—As Akihiko walks in. He steps up to the urinal next to Shinjiro and unzips. Neither of them says anything. They finish at the same time and turn to face each other once their pants are rezipped. Their eyes meet for a long moment and there’s a sense of hesitation in the air. Wavering.

 

Next thing Shinjiro knows, his back is up against the wall and Akihiko’s lips are moving against his. With his. The kiss is rough. Hungry. Desperate. They haven’t seen each other in four years and they want nothing more than to touch every inch of each other.

 

“What was that—” Akihiko gasps between kisses, “—you said about—” He moans low in the back of his throat as his ear is nipped at, “—about not hitting on me?”

 

Shinjiro pushes him back far enough to get a look at the grin on the other’s face. Although, the smugness is washed out by the redness of his cheeks. By the desire in his dilated eyes. He kisses him again. This time, it’s calm. Soft. Fond. Hell, he’s kissing the guy he’s been in love with for as long as he can remember. He doesn’t want to screw this up.

 

“Maybe we should take this back to my place,” he speaks up.

 

Akihiko’s smug demeanor has diminished. He knows the brunette is serious. He is, too. He nods his head. “Yeah. Your place.”

 

Once they’re through the door of the brunette’s apartment, their lips are crashing together again. Almost like the short walk there was too much distance for them. They need to be close. Molded together. Connected.

 

This time, Shinjiro gets Akihiko pinned to the wall. He presses into his body, slipping his knee between his legs. Akihiko’s groaning at the friction, trying to grind his hips, but it’s tough for him to move with the way the brunette is confining him. And the next time the white-haired man gasps, the brunette slips his tongue into his mouth. He tastes of alcohol, but it’s almost comforting. Huh. Comforting. Like a fireplace in wintertime.

 

He frees the other’s lips to kiss at his neck. He nips at the sensitive flesh, enjoying every sound coming out of his mouth. Then when Shinjiro hears his own name fill the air in a breathless tone, he pulls back to look Akihiko in the eye. They share an intense stare. That was one of things about them; they had always been able to communicate without words. And in this moment, they both know they want the same thing.

 

They stumble to the futon, discarding their shirts as they trip over their own feet. Shinjiro falls first, pulling Akihiko on top of him, who settles between his legs. Now he’s the one nipping at sensitive flesh, and the brunette hisses at the sensation. He rolls his hips into the other’s, their erections rubbing together through too many layers of clothing. Akihiko must have read his mind because he’s retreating and starts undoing Shinjiro’s pants. The brunette sits up to help, and in no time at all, their pants are lost to the floor beneath them. Boxers, too.

 

“Now seems as good a time as any to tell you that—” Akihiko starts, but he stops himself. The brunette’s trying not to focus on the fact that he’s being straddled because _shit_ that’s hot. Akihiko then clears his throat. “How much I’ve missed you,” he says instead.

 

Shinjiro’s still breathing heavy. He knows the white-haired man well enough to know he backtracked his thoughts. And, damn it, he wants to hear the other tell him he loves him. If that means saying it first, so be it. This is one competition he’s willing to throw.

 

“Aki…” He props himself up on his elbows. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since middle school,” he says. “No matter when I actually realised it, though, I do know I’m still in love with you now.”

 

The smile that forms across Akihiko’s swollen lips is beautiful. Bright. Shinjiro can’t recall the last time he saw him smile like that. If ever. Then they’re kissing again. They’re kissing and grinding their hips into each other’s, but somehow, it’s not enough. So, the brunette reaches down between them, takes both their members in his hand and starts stroking. Akihiko’s next moan comes out almost as a stutter.

 

Once Shinjiro forms a good rhythm, he starts rubbing his thumb over Akihiko’s tip with every upward stroke. He takes in every gasp and groan uttered from the body above him, letting the sounds fuel him. He strokes a little faster. Grips a little tighter. Damn it. Just a little more…

 

Akihiko comes first, shooting up Shinjiro’s bared chest. It’s not quite enough to push the brunette over, so he keeps stroking himself. Akihiko swats his hand away, though. He wants to argue, but he’s being rolled over so that he’s on top now and—Oh, _fuck_ , that’s Akihiko’s hand on his dick. That’s Akihiko laying beneath him, his own release dripping onto his stomach from Shinjiro’s chest. That’s Akihiko begging for him to come. So, he does, making as much of a mess of his chest as the other did on his own.

 

The brunette falls onto his back beside the other, breathless and shaky. He’d never come that hard in his life. Hard enough to see stars behind his eyes.

 

Akihiko gets up first. Shinjiro can’t even feel his body. But he does feel the other cleaning his chest with a damp towel. The towel’s scratchy, but it still feels nice. As is the warmth of the body lying beside him again. Akihiko clears Shinjiro’s forehead of a couple strands of hair stuck there by sweat. Then he feels the other’s lips on his. It’s a much softer touch now. Affectionate.

 

“I love you, too, Shinji,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper.

 

The brunette smiles. “You fucking better.”

 

Akihiko laughs, and he opens his eyes—unsure of when they closed—to watch him. And it’s a sight to see. He curls his hand around the nape of the other’s neck and pulls him in for another kiss. He can get used to this. Kissing Akihiko. Touching him. Just being with him in general. Hell, it was what he had always wanted. Except now he’s no longer afraid to admit it.

 

“We should shower,” Shinjiro says once he releases the other’s lips.

 

Akihiko smiles gently. “Yeah, I could go for a shower.”

 

They spend a much longer amount of time in the shower than they had anticipated they would. Not that either of them complains about the time they spent. Even once they’ve finally settled in bed, they still don’t sleep. They’re too busy talking. Catching up. It has been just about four years, after all. So, when Shinjiro’s alarm goes off the next morning, he groans for an entirely different reason.

 

“Call in sick,” Akihiko says sleepily as the brunette’s getting dressed.

 

“Ain’t no such thing with these people,” Shinjiro says.

 

“Then the job’s not worth it.”

 

He considers this for a moment, but decides against it, shaking his head. “I gotta go. I’ve put too much time into this job to quit now.”

 

“That’s called settling. And with that sort of attitude, you’ll never do what you’re actually capable of.”

 

He doesn’t respond. Just sits on the edge of the bed as he puts his shoes on. It isn’t long before he feels Akihiko’s hands sneaking under his shirt. He sighs contently at the touch and doesn’t resist as his shirt is pulled over his head. Akihiko’s arms are wrapped around him now and he’s nibbling at this ear. _Tease_. His can feel his cock twitching to life, so he turns and pushes the other down, crawling over him. Akihiko tries to smirk like he’s won some fight he didn’t know they were a part of, but the blush in his cheeks diminishes his arrogance.

 

“You’re lucky I love you, moron,” Shinjiro speaks up.

 

He chuckles breathlessly. “Yeah, I am.”

 

Then they’re kissing again. Slow and languid. And Akihiko’s already bucking his hips up into the brunette’s, so Shinjiro knows it’s gonna be a long day based on how impatient the other already is. But that’s okay because he can be a tease, too.

 

As the rest of the world fades away, Shinjiro can’t help but be thankful for the dirt bar. Thankful that Akihiko chose that restaurant, of all the ones in town, to stop in at. Thankful for the single stall in the bathroom there always being occupied. Better yet, he’s thankful for getting the chance to be with Akihiko again. To hold him. To love him. To be loved by him.

 

Tch. _Such a sap_.

**Author's Note:**

> P.S.  
> I will never let this ship die


End file.
